


The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning

by foxtales



Series: The Charon Files [1]
Category: The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, Mercenaries, Torture, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-16
Updated: 2014-05-16
Packaged: 2018-01-25 09:25:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1643720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxtales/pseuds/foxtales
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This was my first ever fanfic and was written in 2002. </p>
<p>Title from the Smashing Pumpkins song.</p>
<p>Special and eternal thanks to AG for not only being there for every word and playing along in this universe, but for being my in-house beta for so many years.</p>
<p>This is a modern day AU set in Seattle, WA.</p></blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was my first ever fanfic and was written in 2002. 
> 
> Title from the Smashing Pumpkins song.
> 
> Special and eternal thanks to AG for not only being there for every word and playing along in this universe, but for being my in-house beta for so many years.
> 
> This is a modern day AU set in Seattle, WA.

Athens, Greece 2 July

“Big pay for this one, Nikolai. Easy money!” Vassili Makarov announced, preceding his companion into a large hangar at the airport.

“I’m sure,” Nikolai Pyotrovich drawled. “Why all the bloody secrecy? ”

“This is huge, Nikolai. No mistakes, okay?”

Nikolai’s green eyes narrowed and frosted over. “I don’t make mistakes.”

Makarov unconsciously took a step back. He hadn’t worked with Pyotrovich before he’d left Russia; had only heard from his older companions about the man’s work in the field. He was rescued from issuing a retraction when his superior walked through the hangar door.

“No you do not. Nor do you ask questions. Another reason we come to you for help,” the man stated firmly, throwing an irritated look Vassili’s way as he stepped through the door.

Nikolai’s eyes warmed as he saw the newcomer. “Vladi, you old war dog. I thought you went out with the Berlin Wall.”

Vladimir Kostin smiled at Nikolai with great affection. He had known Pyotrovich since the younger man had been born although they hadn’t seen each other in years. “I suppose that makes the old saying ‘you cannot keep a good Komrade down’ true.”

Nikolai laughed as he stepped forward to embrace Vladi. “So what do you need, my old friend?” he asked, dismissing Makarov.

Vassili’s eyes narrowed at the slight.

“I want you to fly a plane in three days time,” Vladi replied, stepping back.

“Necessary details?” Nikolai was all business now.

“This is what I like about you, Nikolai. You want only what is necessary to the job at hand,” Vladi chuckled. “In three days, in this same hangar, there will be an Aero Commander filled with cargo. A flight plan will be in the cockpit. Drop off the cargo and go home. Simple, yes?”

Nikolai nodded. “Just the way I like it.”

Vladi chuckled again and slung his arm across Nikolai’s shoulders. “Come, pup. Let us have a drink and catch ourselves up.”

Vassili, still seething over Nikolai’s treatment, watched them leave. A snatch of conversation floated back to him. “So, Nikolai, how is your family these days?”

A smile stretched Makarov’s thin lips. _Yes, how is your family?_

 

*******

 

Seattle, WA 3 July

Orrin Travis was sitting in his office on the top floor of the City Center Building in downtown Seattle, looking out over Elliott Bay. He absently raised his mug to his lips only to find the coffee was cold. He sighed and set the mug back on his desk before standing and walking to the window. He hated waiting. One week ago, he’d approached Chris Larabee about working for him. Chris Larabee: former Lieutenant Commander in the Navy SEALs; former decorated and highly respected leader of men. Chris Larabee, convicted murderer.

A bittersweet smile twisted Orrin’s mouth at memories of Chris before he had fallen from grace. There were few natural leaders in the military; Larabee had been one of them. In the Teams, the bond between the officers and the enlisted men was unlike any other in the military. Every SEAL went through the same torturous physical and mental regimen and while there were still lines between officers and enlisted men, they were blurred and in some cases disregarded altogether. Larabee’s men would follow him without question because they knew he would ask nothing of them that he would not do himself.

That loyalty had brought an end to Larabee’s extremely promising career. There was no place in today’s military for men who killed ranking officers in cold blood. It didn’t matter if said officer had been selling secrets to an enemy group that had resulted in the deaths of hundreds of servicemen, including thirty SEALs – one of whom had been Travis’s son. It didn’t matter that Chris and Buck’s team had been captured and tortured relentlessly; that four of the seven had died and that the surviving three, Chris, Buck and the team corpsman, had been more dead than alive when they had been rescued. Buck and the corpsman had been given medical discharges. Chris would have gotten one as well if he hadn’t earned a court-martial beforehand.

In a twist of fate that still made everyone involved shake their heads ruefully, it had been Travis who had presided over Larabee’s court-martial; Travis who had put the man he considered a second son in prison. Orrin had pulled in too many favors to count to get Larabee’s charge down from first-degree murder to voluntary manslaughter. After his courtroom antics, Admiral Travis had been offered a choice – retire or end up on the wrong side of his own court-martial. Travis had retired immediately and began working on an idea conceived while his son Steven, and Steven’s best friends Chris Larabee and Buck Wilmington, had been at school in Maryland. He set up a business to take care of details that governments didn’t want to worry about or be caught trying to mitigate. Details that included dealing with terrorist groups, rescuing people, taking out particularly difficult targets and the like. He wanted Larabee to lead his group; he just had to wait for the man to get out of prison.

Travis waited for almost a year after Larabee got out to approach the man with the terms of the job. By that time, Chris knew he needed more than his growing horse ranch in his life to keep him from being bored, so he agreed almost immediately. He asked for one week to see what he could do about assembling a team. Now the week was up and Travis was anxious to see how far Larabee had gotten in his search. His intercom buzzed. ‘ _Sir, Chris Larabee and associates here to see you_.’ He requested they be shown to his office, then quickly sat down and tried to look busy. When the door opened, he smiled as he saw the man behind Chris.

A wide grin split Buck Wilmington’s face as Orrin came from around the desk to shake his hand. “Just can’t stay away, can ya Judge?”

Travis laughed. “Just Orrin now, Buck.”

“Sure, Judge. Whatever you say,” Buck replied with a wink as he released Travis’s hand.

“I say, I am damn glad to see you lost that thing you called a mustache,” Orrin teased.

“You wound me, Judge!” Buck covered his heart as he staggered back. “Besides, I didn’t hear any of the ladies complaining about it back in the day.”

Orrin shook his head, smiling, as he moved to Chris and offered his hand. “Why don’t you introduce us,” he said, indicating the two other men with a nod.

“Judge, meet Josiah Sanchez and Dr. Nathan Jackson.”

“A doctor? You really are a military man aren’t you, Chris?” Orrin chuckled, shaking both Nathan and Josiah’s hands.

“Some habits are hard to break,” Buck interjected, grinning.

Orrin looked at the two new men as everyone got settled. Jackson was tall and dark with a doctor’s trained, impassive face. Travis wondered what had caused the man to throw his lot in with a mercenary organization.

Sanchez wasn’t as tall as Jackson but he was bigger, a bear of a man. He was older than Chris and Buck, Travis estimated him to be about 45. His sandy hair, including his Van Dyke, was liberally sprinkled with gray. Travis got the impression that Sanchez had seen and done things that made his addition to the team less of a leap than Jackson’s. Both men’s stories were likely to be enlightening. Orrin turned his attention back to the matter at hand.

“Is four enough?” Orrin asked, looking at Chris.

Larabee shook his head. “No sir. We need technical support and someone who has contacts in the international community, both higher and lower than any of us do right now.”

“I have someone in mind for your tech needs.” Orrin chuckled. “I found him hacking my supposedly secure website. He’s been working at safeguarding the site ever since. Would you like to talk with him?”

“Why not?” Chris replied.

“Come on over to the meeting room. I’ll send for JD.”

Orrin got the men settled and had coffee delivered while they waited for JD. He asked Josiah and Nathan how they were recruited. Sanchez explained that he operated a small helicopter and airplane company that ferried tourists and “other cargo.” Orrin chuckled as Josiah related the story of how he met Wilmington in a cigar bar in Vancouver, B.C. on one of his deliveries. The two of them had gotten on so well, Wilmington had looked Sanchez up in Seattle and they had become friends. Josiah had signed on when Buck and Chris had come to him and said they needed a pilot. He had flown combat helo missions during Grenada and Panama so he had military training and he was a smuggler now so he knew how to get around government restrictions. He would be an excellent addition to the team, Travis decided.

Jackson’s story was completely different. Nathan had been an emergency room doctor who had bent the rules a bit too much for the hospital bureaucracy, and he’d been dismissed from his position. He had retained his medical license, but had been blackballed by the local medical community and insurance companies. Unable to renew his insurance, he’d taken on work as a medical examiner.

Jackson met Wilmington on a case the private investigator had been working on at the time. He’d run into Buck again on a later case. Wilmington caught Jackson handing stolen medical supplies to a teenager. Nathan explained that the kid’s sister was a diabetic but could not afford the various paraphernalia required to treat the disease. Jackson had been stealing from the hospital and giving it to the sick girl for almost a year. This wasn’t the only “patient” he was helping either, he’d told Buck.

Wilmington had introduced Jackson to Sanchez, who had helped Nathan stay out of prison by smuggling the goods in from Canada. The three of them became good friends. They trusted Buck and if Buck trusted Chris, that was good enough for them. Chris obviously felt the same.

Orrin smiled. All of the trust on this side and then there was JD Dunne who was the most untrusting young man Orrin had ever met. His addition to the team would be good for a few interesting moments, of that the older man was certain.

A moment later, the door slammed open and a young man purposefully entered the room. Unaware of his audience, he immediately began reporting to Travis. “I’ve set up an enhancer that instantly records all sigs and echoes that hit anywhere on the site. Even if they think they’ve cleared their tracks, they’re tagged. Best of all, I’ve set up a little - shall we call it a safety valve? - that instantly freezes up the hard drive of anyone who bypasses my code. I don’t expect this little feature to ever be used but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

As JD was making his report, Orrin watched the others study the young man. He was perfectly aware that none of them would have picked JD off the street to be a part of their team. Dunne was wearing three-quarter length cargo shorts and a loose fitting Pearl Jam tank top. Parts of several tattoos showed. His black hair was in disarray; obviously he'd run his hands through it many times recently. Orrin smiled at JD. He really liked the young man and he hoped he was doing the right thing by recommending him for Larabee’s team. “Excellent work, JD. I knew I made the right decision in hiring you.”

JD snorted. “Yeah right, man. If that fire alarm in my building hadn’t gone off, you would never have even known I was alive.”

Orrin laughed. “We all would have been worse off if you hadn’t been forced to shut down my site before you could completely erase your signature and, thus, be arrested.”

JD chuckled. “You’re nuts, boss. I think that’s why we get along so well.”

“How’d your mother make out?”

JD shook his head, disgust evident on his expressive face. “Fuckin’ feds. Her parole was denied _again_! What do they think she’s gonna do? Get out of prison, head to Kinko’s and hack some damn bank site? Jesus, they let murderers out sooner.”

Buck snorted, knowing both Chris and Josiah had been convicted of killing people and neither had served their full sentences.

JD whirled around. “Who the hell are they?”

“They are here to speak with you,” Travis replied.

JD brushed his black hair out of his eyes and smirked at the men. They all sat at the table with varying degrees of ‘authority face’ as he’d dubbed it; that look of impassiveness mixed with a degree of condescension. “Whatever it is you think you have on me, you can’t prove I did it.”

“It’s only what you _will_ do that concerns me,” Chris stated, meeting JD’s unfazed gaze.

“What business is it of yours what I do?” JD responded, calm despite Chris’s intense stare.

“Well, if you’re gonna be on our team, we kind of want to know what you can do.” Buck interjected.

“Your team?” JD knew what the Charon Group was really about, it was his job to design code to hide that from people not authorized to know. If the men around the table were talking teams then they were mercenaries. He looked at Travis. “What’s going on here, boss?”

“JD, I am reassigning you as of...”

“Reassigned? No, that’s not part of the deal, Travis. I work for _you_ not some tricked out commando unit!”

Chris met JD’s wary gaze as he stood and crossed the room to the younger man. “Orrin didn’t offer you a choice, JD, but I will. I can’t afford to have someone covering our backs who doesn’t want to be there. I need your talents, JD.”

JD cocked his head slightly, paused for several long moments and then nodded curtly.

“Thank you,” Chris replied, holding out his hand for JD to shake.

“JD Dunne,” the young man said, shaking Chris’s hand firmly.

“Chris Larabee. Let me introduce the rest of the team.”

Chris took JD around the table introducing him to Buck, Nathan and Josiah. After meeting everyone, Orrin sent JD back to the computer lab to finish working on his project.

As the door shut behind the young man, Orrin turned back to face the team. “Well?”

“He seems to have a problem with authority,” Chris stated.

“His mother is serving twenty in a federal pen for computer related crimes,” Orrin replied. “Her husband gave her up trying to lessen his impending drug sentence. She got out on bail, grabbed her son out of children’s services, and made an incredibly successful bid for freedom. It took eleven years to track her down. They only found her because she was filmed at one of JD’s bike competitions and one of the detectives assigned to her case happened to be watching that competition with his son. She taught JD to question anything and everyone. Yes, I’d say he has a bit of an authority problem.”

“I don’t think any one of us around this table can throw stones about problems with authority. Why else are we all sitting here?” Nathan said quietly.

“I agree with Nate,” Buck added. “If he’s the best, let’s give him the chance to prove it.”

Chris turned to Sanchez. “Josiah?”

Josiah smiled. “It’ll be worth it just to hear the stories behind his tattoos,” he quipped, raising chuckles from around the table. “I say he’s in.”

 

*******

 

4 July

Chris looked at his beeper in irritation. It was four in the morning and he was not a happy camper. He pulled out the cell phone Travis had assigned him and called his boss. “Larabee.”

“Chris, we have a situation. Get down to the office.”

“On my way,” Larabee replied to the dial tone. He shook his head and got dressed.

The rest of the team was already at the office when he arrived. The coffee was on and there were some bagels and muffins on the conference table. Chris accepted the mug Buck handed him as he turned to Travis. “Judge?”

Orrin stood. “There have been a series of kidnappings around the world. Sons of ten families have disappeared so far. No ransom notes as of yet, but whoever is doing this is most likely waiting for all of the victims to be in one place before demands are made.”

“So you think there will be more kidnappings?” Chris inquired, his eyes hard and cold.

“Yes.”

“Are there any connections between the victim’s families?” Josiah asked.

“None that have been determined as of yet, but there are agencies in six countries who are working on that as we speak,” Travis replied.

Travis’s cell phone rang. “Travis. _What?_ Are you..? No, I’ll take care of it. I want to know as soon as you do what is happening. Thank you for the call.” Travis hung up the phone and turned back to face the table.

Chris and Buck sat stone-faced, waiting for an explanation. Nathan, Josiah and JD watched their teammates with a mixture of curiosity and uncertainty.

Orrin sighed. “They have Billy.”

“Why?” Buck cried, pounding his fists on the table.

“It doesn’t matter, Buck,” Chris’s cool voice answered. “Our job isn’t to figure the whys, it’s to find those children and stop them from being hurt.”

“Who’s Billy?” JD asked. He looked at Nathan and Josiah but they just shrugged, they didn’t know either.

“Billy is my grandson,” Orrin answered, his voice hitching before he got himself under control.

“Jesus, boss, I...” JD began.

“Who is involved does _not_ matter,” Chris interrupted coldly.

“What do you mean, Chris?” JD argued. “Travis’s grandson...”

“There are eleven boys missing, JD. Ten other families are missing their sons and grandsons. Would you put forth less of an effort if the Judge’s grandson weren’t involved?” Chris interjected brutally.

JD jerked as if he’d been slapped. “No! That’s a terrible thing to suggest!”

“It was your suggestion not mine,” Chris snapped, slamming the door open and leaving the room.

JD, shocked, looked at everyone in the room. “That wasn’t what I meant!”

Josiah patted JD’s shoulder. “We know that, JD. There’s more to the Billy situation than we know. Chris is reacting to that, not you.”

Buck sighed. “Look, guys, you all know that Chris and I have a history with the Judge, here. We’ve known Billy all of his life and that makes this a bit more complicated.”

“Is Chris going to be able to handle this?” Nathan asked quietly.

“Yes, I am,” Chris replied, his voice even as he entered the conference room again. “JD, I apologize. You didn’t deserve that.”

JD nodded his acceptance of the apology. While he now understood what had caused the outburst, he was still not happy about being its target.

Chris took control of the meeting again. “Judge, the details you have, please?”

“There have now been eleven reported kidnappings. We do not know how many more will be attempted and no established link between the families has been reported.”

Larabee nodded. “We need someone who is familiar with international back channels to help us out with this. Someone who can get information from low places.”

Orrin nodded. “Likely the CIA has someone we can utilize for the time being. Men, it is safe to say that this ops will be taking place overseas. Make arrangements as necessary for such an event. When you are ready, meet back here. We will stay until we are notified one way or another. I will see you shortly.” Travis left the room. He had phone calls to make.

 

*******

By 5 pm everyone was back at the office, arrangements made and supplies stashed until necessary. Delivered Thai food was being served for dinner. Orrin filled the group in on what had developed during the day. “Four more reported kidnappings, bringing the total to fifteen. Still no ransom, so it is assumed more will occur. No strong connection between the children has been established. The CIA sent me the name Vin Tanner as a contact. He is a mercenary who used to work for the Company.”

“You comfortable working with mercs?” Josiah asked, smiling.

“I guess you could say that,” Travis replied smiling. “I’ve reached out to Tanner. We’re waiting to see if he’s available.”

“Tanner have a dossier?” Buck asked.

Travis held it up. “As you can see, it is very slim.”

Buck nodded, a satisfied look on his face.

“Isn’t that a bad thing?” Nathan asked.

“Hell no, Nate,” Buck responded, smiling. “If there isn’t much information, it means your merc is smart and doesn’t leave messes behind.”

Travis’s cell phone rang again. “Travis. He’s on his way? Excellent.” Orrin hung up and looked at his team. “Tanner will be arriving at Sea-Tac at 7:15. He flew Jet Blue from JFK.”

“Who’s going to meet him?” Chris inquired, his raised eyebrow suggesting it would not be him.

“I’ll go,” JD offered, laughing at the looks everyone gave him. “You guys are proving my point. I am the least merc-lookin’ guy at this table. I won’t send Tanner into some immediately defensive posture.”

Travis chuckled. “You’ll have to take a sign, but put our name on it, not his. He’ll find you.”

“No prob, man. I’m on it,” Dunne responded.

“That’s what I’m worried about,” Travis teased.

JD rolled his eyes, taking his container of food with him as he left the room.

 

*******

 

Sea-Tac Airport 7:30 pm, 4 July

Vin Tanner headed to baggage claim, scanning the crowd as he walked. He hadn’t yet seen a sign that alerted him, but he wasn’t worried – the Charon Group was located in the City Center building in downtown Seattle and any cabbie in the city would know how to get there. He collected his bags and approached the doors. A young man was sprawled in the row of seats right by the doors holding a sign that read ‘Looking for a soul to ferry.’ Vin grinned. They couldn’t have picked someone who looked less like he worked for a covert organization. Vin knew the kid had to be involved on the tech side; he would stand out way too much to be an active operative.

 

*******

JD held his sign as he reclined in a chair by the doors leading out of the terminal. He figured the best place to find Tanner would be the Jet Blue baggage carousel. Dunne had been in place for about thirty minutes and he was bored. He decided to try to guess which of the men waiting for bags was Tanner. So far, he’d been wrong every time, but since he had no idea what a mercenary looked like, it didn’t bother him in the least. The images in his mind were straight from Hollywood – a rough type with longer or at least shaggy unkempt hair, jeans and boots. Or maybe super businessman, with cold, dead eyes. The man who walked directly toward him looked nothing like either. His hair was short and well cut, he was wearing brown trousers and a lightweight ribbed tan sweater. He was not wearing boots, but fine leather shoes. JD figured this guy’s outfit probably cost more than he made in a month. Tanner’s blue eyes were neither cold nor emotionless, but filled with humor over his sign. This could be interesting.

 

*******

Vin chuckled as he walked up to Dunne. “Creative.” He held out his hand. “Vin Tanner.”

“JD Dunne,” he answered, shaking Vin’s hand firmly. “Want me to carry anything for you, Mr. Tanner?”

“Call me Vin, and no, I’ve got it, thanks.”

“Cool,” JD replied, walking to the side of the terminal. “Your chariot awaits.”

As they got outside, Vin saw the policeman standing by the nondescript champagne Camry.

“Looks like we got some company, JD.”

JD looked around for a moment before realizing Vin meant the uniform. “Nah, no problems there.”

Vin’s eyebrow raised but he kept quiet. This was JD’s turf and if he said there wasn’t going to be a problem Vin would accept that. His lips twitched in surprised humor as JD shook the cop’s hand and thanked him for watching over the car.

“What do you have on him?” Vin asked, watching the cop walk away.

JD grinned as he unlocked the car. “Pictures of him wiping out big time on a half-pipe.”

Vin smiled as he loaded his bags in the trunk. “You a skate punk?”

“Nah. I mostly do bikes, but I grew up with him so I have a ton of blackmail material.”

Vin nodded before settling in the car.

JD paused for a moment before glancing at Vin. “Hey, Vin, mind if I ask a question?”

“You want to know how I got involved in this business?”

JD nodded.

Vin gave an elegant shrug. “Just sort of fell into it, really. After I graduated from college, the CIA offered me the chance to give up my life for my country. I didn’t have anything better to do at the time, so I took them up on it. I found that I don’t do well with bureaucratic rules and regs so I quit the Company. I’ve never looked back. How about you?”

JD laughed. “I hacked the wrong site.”

“Work for the company or go to prison, eh?”

“Exactly. Then yesterday, I got transferred to the ops department.”

“Jesus,” Vin chuckled. “Timing is everything.”

“So they say,” JD replied, smiling as he pulled into the parking garage underneath the City Center. He liked Vin. “Time to shine, Tanner,” he teased as he got out of the car.

Vin laughed. “I always shine, Dunne.”

JD led the way to the elevator. Again, Vin carried all of his bags.

Vin watched JD enter a code on the keypad. A blue button lit up on the floor button panel and Dunne reached over to press it. When the elevator shuddered to a stop and the doors opened, Vin stepped out into a completely white room. JD went to a console and placed his hand on it. Finally, another door opened and two armed men entered the room. “Good evening, Mr. Dunne.”

JD smiled. “Hey guys. This is Vin Tanner. He’ll be working with us for this case.”

“Mr. Travis already informed us. Welcome to the Charon Group, Mr. Tanner. Mr. Dunne, they are in the War Room.”

“Thanks guys.”

JD led Vin into the offices. “Don’t even bother asking them not to call you Mr. Tanner. I’m the most informal guy around and they’ve been calling me Mr. Dunne since day one - that was two months ago.”

Vin snorted as JD led him down the hall to the war room. He liked Dunne, liked his sense of humor. He wasn’t used to feeling comfortable with people so quickly.

The door opened and all discussion stopped.

“Hey kids. Meet Vin Tanner. Vin, the old geezer in the front is Orrin Travis. He’s the boss. I’ll let him do the rest of the introductions.”

“Insolent whelp,” Travis groused good-naturedly, shaking Vin’s hand.

JD smirked as he plopped down in a seat.

Vin noticed the rest of the guys hiding smiles behind hands. At least this group has a sense of humor...could do worse. “Mr. Travis.”

Vin was quickly introduced to the team. He was offered a mug of hot, black coffee as he took his seat. His mind automatically catalogued the men he’d just met. Jackson was like Dunne, essentially a civilian who’d somehow gotten involved. Sanchez was a man who’d been around the block a few times. Larabee and Wilmington were trained for ops. Probably some form of special teams – the two of them practically screamed military. Larabee interested Vin. Tanner was not one to trust easily. He could count on one hand the number of people he’d trust with his life and still have some digits left over, yet there was something about Chris Larabee that made Tanner want to extend his trust to the man.

Orrin had moved back up to the front of the room to continue his briefing. “To recap the latest Intel: There have been twenty kidnappings. A ransom has now been demanded, twenty million British pounds for each child. Proof of life has been established for each child and a time limit of July 10 has been set for delivery of funds. If the money is not delivered, they will kill the children.”

Tanner felt all eyes in the room on him. “Who is responsible?” he asked quietly, his face calm.

“They are calling themselves the ‘Red Wall.’ No one has any Intel on them, but it is assumed that they are disillusioned Russians who want to fund some kind of change in international power.”

“That’s odd,” Vin responded, frowning. “Usually there is activity noted by at least one agency before a group gets to this level. Do you have a list of the children who were kidnapped?”

Travis handed Tanner the list. Vin was completely unprepared for the last name on the list, William Smythe-Hampton. He drew in a breath and his hands tightened around the paper. It did not go unnoticed.

“Which child do you know, Vin?” JD asked quietly.

Vin sighed. If JD had seen his reaction he was sure the rest had as well. “Smythe-Hampton. I went to school with his parents.”

“Are you close to the boy?” Josiah asked.

“When Wills was born, there was a knock-down, drag-out fight between the mother and the father as to whether myself or another friend would be named the godfather,” Vin replied, smiling crookedly. It quickly faded as he considered the ramifications of the boy’s name being on the list. “Were any of these men previously KGB or Russian army?”

“Most likely at least some of the leaders were,” Travis replied.

“I know someone who may be able to help,” Vin said, pulling his laptop out of its bag, setting it on the table, and booting it up. “He is ex-KGB. If anyone can get information on this organization, he can.”

“How long will it take to reach him?” Travis inquired.

“If he’s hooked in, minutes,” Vin replied, checking his mail. He immediately opened an e-mail and began to read as he continued, “It’s about four a.m. there. Let me just...”

“What?” Chris demanded as Vin trailed off.

Vin paid no heed to Chris, continuing to read.

“WHAT?” Five men cried in unison.

Vin looked up from his screen, a mixture of humor and disbelief in his blue eyes. “This e-mail is from the man I was just talking about. He is involved with the kidnappings.”

“Involved how?” Buck asked, voice cold.

“He flew the children to a secured point,” Vin answered, a brief smile quirking his lips.

“He left those children with terrorists?” Nathan cried indignantly.

“He said he didn’t know at the time what was on the plane,” Vin replied.

“He had to know something!” Nathan continued.

“Actually, Nathan, it’s entirely possible that he didn’t know,” Josiah interjected. “He’d have followed the flight plan and then gone home a richer man. He may not have checked the cargo.”

Vin looked at Josiah. “Been on a few of those yourself, Sanchez?”

Josiah smiled. “A few.”

“How did your ‘friend’ find out about his cargo, Tanner?” Orrin asked.

“CNN. He heard the news about the ransom after he returned home. He was not happy when he found out.”

“Why would it matter to him one way or another?” Nathan asked.

Vin paused for a moment before replying in a flat tone, “He doesn’t usually work with kids.”

“Would your friend be able to give us information on this Red Wall organization?” Chris inquired, noting Tanner’s pause and deciding to let it go for now.

Tanner nodded. “In the e-mail, he mentioned the name Vladimir Kostin. Kostin was a high level KGB agent back in the day and I could definitely see him as a leader of such a group.” Vin paused for a moment. “I’ll see if he will offer more information.”

Tanner typed quickly and sent a note that was answered in under a minute. “He has agreed to discuss terms.”

“Terms?” Nathan asked in disbelief. “He wants money just for some information?”

Vin looked at Nathan. “Why shouldn’t we offer compensation for his time?”

“Maybe because he took the children in the first place?”

Vin surprised everyone by laughing. “Nathan, try filtering your view to gray here. This is not a black and white issue.”

Nathan straightened in his chair.

Josiah nodded in agreement. “It’s true, brothers. This can only be about what it takes to get those kids back safe and sound.”

“Why don’t we find out if his friend is interested and go from there?” Buck said, looking around the table.

At the general agreement, Vin typed another mail and sent it. “I asked him if he would help us.”

< I have nothing else to do right now. What is your job? >

<< To retrieve twenty kidnapped children. >>

< I can tell you the drop off point; from there I am afraid I can’t help you as I left the premises before the cargo was unloaded. >

<< What would convince you to actively help us, Nik? >>

< You want me to steal back the children I just stole? >

Vin laughed helplessly before getting himself under control enough to translate. He didn’t expect the others to find it as funny as he did, after all, they hadn’t known this man for more than half of their lives. They couldn’t picture the chestnut eyebrow arched in bored, patrician disbelief or the smirk that most likely accompanied it. Vin knew he was going to have to reel himself in or there would be questions, and right now questions would not be good for either himself or Nik.

“He asked if we wanted him to steal back the children he just stole.”

Josiah also laughed. “That _is_ pretty funny when you think about it.”

“Do we want him on this mission or not?” Chris broke in, redirecting the conversation.

“Are the chances of success better with him?” Orrin asked.

Vin nodded. “Definitely. Nik is one of the best in this profession and once he is committed to retrieving those children, the only thing that will stop him is his death.”

“Vin, by your own words this guy sells his services to the highest bidder. You trust him not to turn if Kostin makes him a better offer?” Nathan asked.

Anger flashed through Vin but he quickly shut it away. These men did not know Nik. Of course they would question Tanner’s faith in him. “If Nik accepts the job, he won’t turn. His moral code may be seriously fucked up but he lives by a strict ethical code.”

“Are you willing to bet our lives and those of twenty children on that?” Nathan asked.

Vin met Jackson’s eyes. “Yes.”

“I want Billy back. If Nik can do that, I want him on this mission,” Buck said forcefully.

Chris looked around the table. “Hands if you do NOT want Nik on the op.” There was no movement of any kind. “Do what it takes, Vin.”

Vin nodded and sent a message. When the reply came back, Vin paused before addressing his teammates. He opened his mouth to translate and then glanced back down at the message again as if he couldn’t quite believe what it said.

“Spit it out, Tanner,” Chris demanded.

“He wants us to meet him in Prague.”

“That’s it? Why the hesitation?”

“His terms,” Vin bit out, glaring at Chris.

“How much will his participation cost?” Travis asked, holding up his hand when Vin would have protested. “I have to know, Vin. We are not affiliated with any government, but five have requested our help and they will need to know how to split any monies required.”

“He doesn’t want money,” Vin replied, his voice flat.

JD cocked his head. “I thought you said...”

“Terms don’t always have to be about money,” Vin snapped, jumping out of his chair and leaving the room. He knew JD wouldn’t be able to translate the messages on his screen and he had to get control of his emotions.

 

*******

As soon as the door shut behind Tanner, Travis turned to JD. “Find out what that message says.”

JD looked shocked. “What?”

“Hack that code,” Travis ordered.

“But...”

“JD,” Josiah interjected quietly, “We need to know everything we can about this 'Nik' person.”

“I don’t like this,” JD stated.

“Welcome to covert action, JD,” Buck replied. “It’s not pretty but someone’s gotta do it. Tanner will understand even if you don’t think he will.”

JD shook his head and set down at Vin’s laptop. “The keyboard is in Cyrillic. This will take me a few minutes,” he announced without looking up from the keyboard. Dunne put his hands on the keyboard and closed his eyes, picturing where the equivalent English keys would be on his keyboard. Once he had a mental feel, he began to compare the symbols from the e-mail to the corresponding symbols on the keyboard. He located those, then used the mental picture of his English keyboard and compared. He wrote down the corresponding English letters as he translated. When he reached the end of the mail, he glanced down at his handwritten note. His brows knitted in frustration. He knew Russian didn’t translate well into English, but this was ridiculous. It was complete nonsense. He balled up the paper and threw it in the wastebasket.

“It’s no good, boss. This must be written in some kind of internal code between the two of them...familiar shorthand or something. I’m not going to be able to...” JD trailed off as his agile mind picked up on something.

“You’re not going to be able to what, JD?” Travis said impatiently. He wanted to know what was going on here.

“Hang on a sec,” JD said, looking back at the open e-mail message on Tanner’s screen and staring intensely as he read it from bottom to top. As the other men watched, a smile crossed his face. “Whoa! This is awesome!”

“WHAT?”

“Well, there’s good news and bad news,” JD said, finally looking up from the screen to his waiting teammates. “The bad news is there is no way in _hell_ I can translate this, at least not until I become fluent in Russian language and numbers. The good news is that we will be working with two of the most intelligent, quick-minded people on the planet for this mission.”

“How can you tell from those few lines?” Buck asked, amazed.

“This is a very complicated code,” JD replied, his eyes going back to the screen. “Each response was reworked from the previous response. It built on itself and changed accordingly. I don’t know much about Russian, but I do know that their number and grammar systems are intricate and have many different endings. Jesus.” JD was in awe. His mind worked quickly, it was how he had noticed that there were even patterns at all, but this...

“JD!” Travis spoke loudly to get the tech’s attention.

“Hmmm?” JD’s eyes had moved from the screen, but he still wasn’t quite with them yet.

“You want to get out of my seat?” Tanner said quietly, looking down at the young man.

JD blinked, then realized who was standing next to him and scrambled out of the chair. “Shit, yeah, sorry, Vin.”

Vin nodded to the tech. “Everything’s cool, JD. No worries.”

JD still kept his gaze on the floor as he walked back to his previous seat. This kind of stuff sucked.

“Alright, we leave tomorrow and Nik will...” Vin began.

“Tomorrow?” Orrin’s surprise was obvious.

“Now that Nik is committed, time is of the essence. He wants to meet tomorrow so he can get to those children,” Vin responded.

“Transportation?” Travis asked.

“A plane will meet us at Sea-Tac at 8 a.m. tomorrow. We should arrive in Prague between 3 and 4 a.m local time. A driver will meet us at the airport and we will be driven to where we will be staying while in town. That puts us in a residence by 5 a.m. local time. We have a conference with Nik to figure out who is going to do what, and we may even get a few hours to rest.”

“Sure beats going over in a sub and a rubber boat,” Buck said, drawing laughter.

“Gentlemen,” Orrin interjected, “You have an early start to a long day tomorrow. I’d suggest you get some rest.”

General agreement was murmured and the men left to complete their nightly rituals, thoughts of the upcoming mission with all its questions and dangers in their minds.


	2. Chapter 2

 

Prague 3:30 a.m. 6 July

The private plane landed at the airport and five of the six men inside readied themselves to go through customs. Vin smiled at the motions his teammates were going through. He made no such attempt, knowing Nikolai would have taken care of customs. As he expected, when they deplaned, there was just one customs agent who made a cursory check of the passports before waving them into the waiting limousine.

Vin smiled at his surprised teammates as he climbed into the vehicle. “Surely you didn’t think Nikolai would allow us to get hung up in customs?”

“I have to admit,” Chris replied, “I thought we would at least have to answer one question.”

JD laughed. “Vin, how did Nikolai work it so that we were allowed to go through so quickly? Customs usually takes forever to get through. That was awesome!”

Vin’s smiled faded. “He called in some favors.”

“Czech customs owes him favors?” Josiah wondered aloud.

“Lots of people owe him favors.” Vin’s voice was flat again, like it had been when he’d been upset in the conference room.

“Alright, Tanner, what is going on?” Chris demanded.

Vin faced Chris, eyebrow raised in inquiry.

“You are hiding something from us and I don’t like it. Now I’ll ask you again. What…Is…Going…On?”

Vin shook his head, although whether it was to deny the request for information or in response to an internal argument was unclear. He said nothing for several moments, the tension stretching to a breaking point in the close quarters.

“Could we all focus on what’s important here?” JD snapped, surprising everyone. “Nikolai’s a fuckin’ merc, Larabee. What the hell else do you need to know about him? Maybe some of you have known each other and worked together before, but I’d never seen any of you before two days ago so let’s not get into who can trust who here. This isn’t a pissing contest and it isn’t a popularity contest. It’s a job, people. Act like it already.”

Having said his piece, JD turned and looked out the window. His words had lessened the tension as everyone was now staring at the back of his head and not Vin.

“Out of the mouth of babes,” Josiah said with a hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

“Whatever, Preacher,” JD muttered.

“I’m not a preacher.”

“And I’m not a babe. Your point?”

Josiah’s smile was now full-fledged. “Does there have to be one?”

“Apparently not,” Buck interjected, drawing chuckles.

“But you made yours earlier, JD, and it was valid,” Chris responded, meeting Dunne’s eyes when the younger man turned to him. Larabee then made eye contact with everyone in the car, holding Vin’s gaze at the end. “I’m used to being in charge. When I was with the teams, everything fell on my shoulders, the responsibility as well as the blame. I am a team leader but I forget that I’m not working with a true team yet.”

Vin’s nod was almost imperceptible.

The limousine slowed down to get through a gate. Vin sighed. _Almost there_.

The car stopped and the men gracelessly piled out. The estate was huge; three visible floors that seemed to stretch endlessly to the side in either direction. JD just stared. The others were impressed, but managed to hide it better. Vin led them toward the house. Before they reached the entryway, the front doors swung open and a formally dressed man stepped into view.

“Mr. Tanner, how delightful to see you again.”

“Thank you, Telford,” Vin said with a smile, his gaze taking in the changes in Telford’s appearance. The older man’s closely cropped hair was silver instead of dark brown now, and there were a few more lines on his impassive face than when Vin had first met him, but he was still the familiar and much-harried guardian from Vin’s youth.

“Please wait in the salon while I announce your arrival.”

 

*******

Nathan felt incredibly out of place as he followed Tanner through the coldly elegant foyer and into a large salon. He was the son of a factory worker from a blue-collar section of Seattle. There were furnishings and accessories in this house that were older than the country he called home. The very walls seemed to whisper of generations of wealth and power. He glanced at his teammates to see how they were handling the situation. Chris stood by a huge floor-to-ceiling window. He looked bored. Buck held a more formal posture than he normally did, suggesting that he wasn’t comfortable. Josiah had gravitated to the bookshelves on the other side of the room and was gazing with rapt attention at the spines. JD was still absorbing the opulence. He had managed to close his mouth, but his eyes were still wide with amazement as he took in his surroundings. Tanner had sunk onto an uncomfortable looking love seat. Nathan had to hand it to the man; he looked as if he were right at home here. Jackson figured he also had to hand it to Larabee. Chris had certainly called it when he’d said Tanner wasn’t telling them the whole story about Nikolai.

 

*******

Bertram Telford climbed the sweeping staircase to the upstairs library where he knew the master of the house waited. He was glad to see young Tanner again. It had been far too long in his estimation. He approached the closed door, gently tapping it before entering, calling out softly, “Telford, sir.”

As Telford entered the library, a smile crossed his face.

“Something amusing, Bertie?” Came a studied drawl.

“Not at all, sir,” Telford chuckled, his amused gaze taking in the young man before him. His employer stood in front of the fireplace, a brandy snifter in one hand and a cigar in the other. He was wearing dark green cords and a black t-shirt with the slogan, “Cut an American and he bleeds as red as you, Komrade” on top of the flag of the Soviet Union. His Doc Martens completed an image that was completely at odds with the air of casual elegance that surrounded the young man. “I think Vin will find it extremely amusing; however, more than likely his associates will not understand the Russian and as such would be unimpressed.”

A chestnut brow arched. “Are you suggesting I change, Bertie?”

Telford’s lips twitched as he fought his smile. “Nothing of the sort, sir.”

Nicholas Peterson’s green eyes glinted with humor. “No, you would never be so gauche as that, would you, Bertie?” He huffed a sigh. “Very well. I will be back shortly.”

Telford watched his charge leave the room. His thoughts went back to Tanner. Vin had been his employer’s roommate at boarding school. They had been inseparable in those days. Telford wondered if Vin would be able to pull Nik back to life. He hoped so; he dearly missed the boy his employer had been. As if conjured by his thoughts, Peterson sauntered back into the library.

“Do I pass inspection?” Nik drawled, turning in a slow circle.

Telford chuckled, taking in the black trousers and black turtleneck. “Very international assassin.”

Nik laughed. “Shall we?”

“Indeed, sir.”

 

*******

 

The Salon

Vin knew they would have to cool their heels for a bit before the master of the house made an appearance. It was just the way Nik did business. The wait either irritated or intimidated the potential client and put them off-balance, which was exactly what Nik wanted. Leave it to the psychology major to play mind games. Vin was also a psychology major, though, and he knew he had to keep his teammates at ease.  
“Anyone want a drink?” he asked, standing up and walking to the small bar. He saw everyone staring at him. He shrugged. “Likely we’ll be waiting for a bit. May as well be comfortable.”

JD laughed nervously. “Vin, I don’t feel comfortable and I don’t think a drink will help, you know?”

Vin smiled. He did know, intimately. “Let me tell you all something. Nik is wealthy and he uses it to put people off balance. He _wants_ you to feel as if you don’t belong. It’s how he keeps control. Just try to remember it’s not personal. He treats everyone the same. Everyone. From the lowliest servant to the most exalted leaders of the world. We are all beneath him.”

“Why?” Nathan asked.

Vin had no answer for that. He had often wondered the same himself. It was another way Nik had changed after they had finished school. During his years at Oxford, Nik had become colder, and once he had become involved in the Russian organization, Vin had feared the permanent loss of his longtime friend. There were only a few tenuous strands holding Nik back from becoming a frozen, emotionless shell and those strands were fraying. Vin didn’t know how to help his friend, although he kept searching for a way. He shook himself mentally. “Because he can, I suppose.”

“But we aren’t really clients,” Buck said.

“It won’t matter.” Vin turned to pour a drink as the door opened.

Chris’s eyes narrowed as their host entered the room. No more than five-foot eight inches, Nik was whipcord lean and moved with a grace that suggested long-time training in some form of martial arts. His chestnut hair was just longer than military regulations would have stipulated, and his sharp green gaze missed nothing. Chris bristled at the arrogance that exuded from the man; it pissed him off that, while being shorter than almost everyone else in the room, Nik could still manage to make it seem as if he were looking down his patrician nose at the lot of them.

Nik, for his part, took stock of everyone before focusing his attention on the man by the bar. “Touch early isn’t it, Tanner?”

Chris’s eyes narrowed. There was nothing even vaguely Slavic about his voice. Nik’s accent was pure British public school. What the hell is going on here?

“Never too early for a decent nip,” Vin replied, turning to face Nik with a drink in each hand. Tanner smiled at the black ensemble his friend was wearing as he crossed the room and handed Nik his glass. The two of them offered each other a toast in Russian and downed the drinks before throwing the glasses into the fireplace. The shattering glass surprised the men in the room and they jumped.

Josiah, who was by the doors, had to smile when he heard Telford mutter, “I hate it when they do that.”

Vin turned to face his teammates. “This is Nicholas Peterson.”

“I believe this is what they refer to as a stunned silence, Mr. Tanner,” Nicholas drawled into the silence as Vin’s teammates simply stared at him.

“Nikolai, Nicholas...You some kind of double agent?” JD asked, recovering.

Peterson laughed. “As a matter of fact, for several years I was a double agent, mister...”

“Dunne. JD Dunne.”

“Well, Mr. Dunne, I have since retired from the service of Mother Russia and so, lamentably, am no longer able to consider myself any kind of agent at all.”

JD smiled at Nicholas. “I’m thinking that is definitely our gain on this mission, Mr. Peterson.”

Nik looked at Vin, a chestnut brow raised. “I like him.”

“I’m sure,” Vin replied, shaking his head and smiling a little. “Nik, let’s get introduced and up to speed so you can work your magic.”

Nik nodded. “I would like to move this to the dining room. I am sure that you all could use coffee, if not some actual food. Follow me, please.”

With that, Nicholas Peterson took charge of the meeting. He led them through more of the grand house to a formal dining room with a table that could easily seat fifty or more people. He allowed Vin to quickly introduce the team before he sat himself at the head of the table with three men on each side. Vin was to his immediate right and next to him were JD and Nathan. Chris was seated to his left followed by Buck and Josiah. A continental breakfast was provided and only after everyone had been served did Nicholas begin to speak.

“Nicholas Peterson is the westernization of my Russian name, Nikolai Pyotrovich,” Nik said, throwing a conspiratorial wink at JD before continuing on with his explanation. “I have known Mr. Tanner for a number of years. He has requested my help and I am willing to give it in this instance. He and I have already discussed terms so you need not concern yourself with that.”

“What if we don’t agree with the terms?” Nathan asked.

Nik gave a cold smile. “You have no choice, Mr. Jackson. I assist you on my terms or no terms at all.”

Eyebrows rose in surprise all around the table at this pronouncement. Chris swallowed his annoyance at Peterson’s arrogance and decided to keep the meeting on track. “What are your terms?”

“They are rather simple actually. There will be two planes for this job. The larger of the two will be for the children and any casualties. Mr. Tanner will fly this plane and will depart first. Mr. Tanner, you will remain on board with the engines running. It will be your responsibility to get those children to safety. I will fly the second plane. Anyone who remains will assist me in covering the departure of the first plane.”

“That’s it?” Buck interjected.

Nik’s smile turned predatory. “That, and do not get between me and these people. They are walking dead men and if you try to stop me or get in my way, I will kill you. I will be speaking with my contact this afternoon and will be better able to gauge the situation then. While we have been breaking our fast, Telford has arranged for your luggage to be placed in your rooms. He will show you to them so that you may rest.”

Telford appeared as if by magic and led all but Tanner out of the dining area.

As soon as the others were gone, Vin and Nik embraced. Vin chuckled. “Ezra Nicholas Pyotrovich Standish, surely those aren’t _the_ Docs?”

Nik grinned and turned his left foot so that Vin could see the back heel of the boot. Drawn there was the punk skull and crossbones that signified the now defunct Bogey’s of London.

A matching grin crossed Vin’s face as he threw an arm around his friend’s shoulder. “Poor Standish. Haven’t grown a bloody inch since 1987.”

“My dear boy, neither have you,” Standish pointed out. “And don’t start using Standish with your associates around. I’m afraid I can’t have that bit of knowledge becoming common.”

Vin’s smile faded as he removed his arm. “Jesus, take it down a notch. This is me you’re talking to, okay?”

“I’m sorry, Vin, but this whole business has me...troubled.”

Vin immediately switched to Belle-Russe, a nearly extinct dialectal language based on Russian and French. Only two people in the world spoke this particular dialect, which also blended Italian and Japanese, and they were facing each other in the room. “Tell me.”

“Were you able to see who was taken?”

“Of course. That’s why I got in touch. Wills—”

“Is only part of the story, Vin. Every child taken is important, in some way, to those involved in the international fight against what has become known as the Russian Mafia.”

Vin’s eyes widened as he absorbed the importance of that statement. “What are you involved in, Nik?”

Nik’s smile was crooked. “Something bigger than both of us.”

“Jesus, Ezra, just when I think I’ve lost you for good, you put in an appearance,” Vin had to chuckle, even though the situation was nowhere near funny. “Let me guess – Vladi.”

“Indeed, but not in the way you imagine. Vladi has turned, Vin. He has a new name these days, Viktor Chuikov.”

Vin gave a startled gasp. “Chuikov? Jesus! I... Vladi is one of the leading mobsters in the Russian Mafia?”

Nik nodded. “He is working extremely hard to be _the_ leading man. To this end, he decided he needed my services on a permanent basis.”

Vin cocked his head as he returned Nik’s gaze. “He would have had to know that Wills wouldn’t be enough. I know you adore your godson, but not enough to give up your freedom of choice. What would...” Vin’s blue eyes widened as he broke off, his friend’s over protectiveness suddenly making sense. “Emiko. Me.”

“He has Emiko already and I could only conclude that you would be next, Vin,” Nik said, scrubbing his hand across his face in a gesture of frustration. “Of all the people from my past to turn, it had to be one who has been a part of my life since before I could walk. One who knew my weaknesses and how to use them against me.”

“So you want me to sit in a plane and wait while you go for Wills and Emiko? Damn you! Vladi has attacked me as much as you! I want my revenge!”

Green eyes frosted. “I will deny you your killing stroke if it keeps you alive, Vin.”

Vin’s eyes also hardened. “That is neither your decision nor your right, Ezra.”

“You know I don’t make this decision lightly, Vin. Vladi will kill you to get to me and, while I can live with many things, that is not one of them.” Ezra briefly squeezed Vin’s shoulder. “If only one of us is to come through this, it should be the better of us, don’t you agree?”

Vin was momentarily consumed by rage at the unfairness of it all. Ezra had set into motion a series of events that would likely save everyone but himself. His closest friend was essentially going on a suicide mission and all Vin could do was wish him Godspeed. Vin’s eyes slid shut and he clenched his fists trying to get control of his unruly emotions. “Don’t do this, Ezra.”

Ezra’s voice gentled. “Don’t do what? Save those children? Get Emiko away from that twisted bastard? Keep you alive and able to make a difference in someone else’s life down the road?”

Vin’s eyes flew open. “You can do all those things without sacrificing yourself.”

“Perhaps.” Standish’s lips quirked. “We shall see, won’t we?”

“Ezra...”

“You have never before broken your word, Vin. Please don’t start now.”

Blue and green gazes met and held, bonds silently reaffirmed. Vin nodded; he had no choice.

“You should get some rest, Vin.”

Vin nodded again and sighed deeply as he headed for his room. He met Telford on the stairs.

“Bertie.”

“Vin.”

“You know, don’t you, Bertie?”

Telford nodded. “They have taken Miss Emiko and were moving on you. He has been beside himself. Please do not fight him on this, Vin. He needs to focus, not worry about whether you will try to help him against his wishes.”

“Damn it, Bertie, bad enough that Ez is putting the guilt screws to me, I don’t need them from you too.”

Telford gave a very unprofessional snort. “I have known you far too long, Vin Tanner. I know as well as himself does how you can twist words around so that you don’t break a promise.”

“I want to help him, Bertie.”

“Then bring Ezra back. He’s been gone for too long, Vin. It’s time.”

Vin nodded solemnly. “I’ll do my best.”

Telford smiled and squeezed Vin’s shoulder, then continued down the stairs. Vin sighed and kept moving up the stairs to the huge landing. His room was to the left and he moved off down the hallway.

 

*******

Ezra stood in his library, gazing down into his brandy snifter as if seeking answers from the amber liquid. He was tired of being led. Vladi would pay for what he had done and if there were any marks on either Emiko or Wills, the debt to be paid would increase accordingly. “You will regret the day you conceived the notion that you could control me, Vladimir Kostin,” he swore.

The shrill cry of his cell phone carried him back to himself. “Da.”

“Ah, Nikolai. You have a visitor, eh?”

Nik’s hand clenched around the phone as he carefully set his snifter on the windowsill.

“Miss Kurosawa was so looking forward to the company, Nikolai. Now she will have to die alone.”

“I will help you.”

“I am glad you see this my way, Nikolai. The first thing I will have you do is relocate the children. I will have a plane waiting for you.”

“Tonight?”

“Yes. The children must be secured and you are the only person I can trust to do it without trying to scam a profit on the side.”

Nik choked out a laugh. “Trust. That is rich coming from you, Vladi.”

“Pretty funny, eh?”

“Fucking hysterical.”

“All will be ready for you at the airport. Be there by three. See you soon, Nikolai.”

Nik drew in a deep breath as he put the phone away. He glanced at the clock – 12 p.m. He threw himself into a chair and leaned his head back. He had less than three hours to decide whether twenty children, one his own godson, were more important than the woman who had raised, trained, protected and loved him as if he had been her own son.

 

*******

Vin found him in the same position over an hour later. “Ez?”

“Do you think you could hand me my drink?”

Vin glanced around the library and saw the half full snifter on the windowsill across the room from Standish. “Tell me and I’ll consider it.”

Green eyes locked onto blue. “He changed the rules, Vin. I had it all worked out, but now...now I find myself having to risk the life of someone who means the world to me for twenty other lives.”

Vin felt Ezra’s pain. The decision would have been tough enough for anyone to make, but Ezra had issues that clouded his judgment. Vin knew that Standish was trying to convince himself to do the right thing and get the children out safely. The problem was that he lived his life by a different set of rules and the person who had taught him those rules, Emiko Kurosawa, was the other life hanging in the balance.

“You don’t have to do this alone, Ezra. Let me help you.”

“Thank you for the offer, Vin, but no.”

Vin’s eyes narrowed in frustration. “So you would have me lose both Emiko and you? Even in your strange thought processes that can’t be the desired outcome, Ez.”

Ezra suddenly looked tired. His eyes slid shut as he sighed. “Go away, Vin.”

Vin’s shoulders slumped. He walked across the room, got Standish’s brandy snifter and handed it to the man.

What might have been a smile quirked Ezra’s mouth, but he did not open his eyes. “Thank you, my friend.”

“I’ll see you downstairs,” Vin said quietly as he left the room.

 

*******

By 3 p.m. the team was gathered in the dining room eating a delicious luncheon. The men were rested and ready to go. Vin had a sinking feeling when Telford arrived without Nik. “He’s left already hasn’t he?” At Telford’s nod, Vin pounded the table. “Fuckin’ Lone wolf!”

“What just happened here?” Chris demanded.

“There was an unexpected development this afternoon.” Telford smoothly directed attention to himself. His employer had left instructions and he would follow them to the letter.

“What development?” Chris persisted.

“The group decided the children had to be relocated and that Mr. Peterson would be the pilot,” Telford replied.

“Why move the kids again?” Buck asked.

“Doesn’t matter,” Chris cut in, turning to Telford. “Will Peterson be able to get us the drop off point?”

Telford set a small transceiver on the table and set it to a specific channel. “He should be transmitting on this channel if all goes according to plan.”

Vin snorted. “Nothing else has, why should this?” he muttered.

Before anyone could comment, the transceiver came to life.

“ _Kolya checking in. Over_.”

Vin grabbed the radio, speaking rapidly in Belle-Russe. He and Standish had a short conversation. When there was static instead of answers, Vin sighed and faced his teammates.

“Vin, what the _hell_ were you just speaking?” JD had to ask. “Was that the verbal equivalent to the code you were using in your emails?”

Vin just stared at JD for a moment.

“Cool,” JD replied. Tanner had answered him by not answering him.

“The children are on Malta right now,” Vin said, getting back to business. “His flight plan has him landing, picking up the children and departing Malta by 9 p.m. tonight. We have to be there before he arrives to take care of any men who may be around the airfield. He places approximately twenty hostiles on site. After we take care of them, we should just be able to load the kids onto our plane and get the hell out of there.”

“Four to one. Not bad,” Chris said crisply, ready to get going.

“There is something I need to tell you before we go,” Vin said, looking around the room. “Vladimir Kostin is now known as Viktor Chuikov.”

Buck whistled. “You sure know how to pick your friends, Tanner.”

“This was an unpleasant surprise to me as well. Until this afternoon, he was just someone I hadn’t heard from in a long time. Now all of a sudden, he’s turned to crime and is trying to kill twenty-one people just because he feels like it.”

“Hold up,” Chris interrupted. “Twenty-one?”

Vin silently cursed his slip. He couldn’t account for why he was acting so out of character around these men. It was a mistake people in his line of business seldom got to make twice. “Likely Chuikov will try to kill Nik and the children tonight.”

“You don’t think the children will be released?” Josiah asked.

Vin shook his head. “No, I don’t. Chuikov will kill them even if the ransom is paid. Every agency involved made the mistake of assuming the Red Wall organization wanted to accomplish something political when it’s really about business.”

“Business? What would Billy Travis or your Wills have to do with the Russian Mafia?” Buck asked, trying to comprehend.

“Nik figured it out. The only discernable link between those children is that someone in or close to their families is involved on some level with fighting the international spread of crime, specifically the Russian Mafia. Look deep enough and I’m sure you will find a link for Billy. Maybe Orrin was involved in a case at some point, I don’t know, but it’s there somewhere.”

“So the Red Wall is really just a front? Or like a red herring?” JD asked.

“Exactly, JD,” Vin replied. “How else could there be a political terrorist group powerful enough to kidnap twenty children in over ten countries yet have no Intel available on them?”

“That would be pretty amazing in this day and age,” Nathan admitted.

“Chuikov is an intelligent and cunning opponent,” Vin responded. “He wants Nik either in the fold, so to speak, or dead.”

“Explain, Tanner,” Chris growled after a moment.

Vin sighed. _In for a penny in for a pound_. “Vladimir Kostin was Nik’s father’s mentor and closest friend. I suppose you would call him a godfather. Vladi has been in Nik’s life since he was born. They know way too much about each other not to be on the same side. When Kostin decided to become Chuikov, he thought he could control Nik and force him to work in his organization. Problem with that is Nik does not play well with others at the best of times, let alone when he is being forced.”

“’Kay, let me be sure I’ve got this,” JD interjected. “Bad guy is Russian Mafioso who used to be KGB agent and godfather to other KGB agent Nik. Bad guy wants to show off power so he arranges for children to be taken and tries to force Nik to work for him. Nik says fuck off and is now arranging to stick knife in godfather’s back with our able assistance. Am I close?”

Telford, silent until this point, had to chuckle at the young man’s summation. “Quite, Mr. Dunne.”

JD inclined his head. “Yeah, my powers of observation rock. My next question is, how the hell are we gonna get to Malta and clear the baddies out by 9 p.m. tonight?”

“We take lots of guns and things that go BOOM with us,” Josiah quipped.

JD rolled his eyes. “That’s all well and good, Josiah, but we got a shitload of stuff to get ready and it’s already four.”

“I think you will find that himself has taken care of that for you. The plane should be loaded, fueled, logged with the tower and ready for take off,” Telford replied smoothly.

“Thought there was going to be two planes?” Buck asked.

“Since one has been so generously supplied by our mutual friend, only one is needed. Now, Mr. Dunne is correct and time is of the essence so I will bid you Godspeed. Good hunting gentlemen,” Telford said, collecting the transceiver and leaving the room.

Chris glanced at his team. “Let’s ride, boys.”


	3. Chapter 3

 

 

 

Malta 6 p.m.

The slender Japanese woman paced the room, her agitation clear to the children held in the room with her.

“Miz Emiko, what’s wrong?” Billy Travis asked, his blue eyes questioning.

Emiko glanced down at the blond twelve year old, flashing a quick smile for reassurance. “I just wonder why they are moving us again, Billy.”

“Maybe we’re going home,” Billy answered in a hopeful tone.

“Possibly,” came another voice, as a dark-haired, dark-eyed boy stepped from the shadows, “but my guess is they are moving us to keep one step ahead of my Uncle Ezra and Uncle Vin.”

“Could be. Or could be my Uncle Chris and Uncle Buck,” Billy replied

Emiko chuckled at the youngsters bragging. “Wills, Billy, don’t start.”

The two boys grinned at each other as they both walked back toward the younger children to offer grandiose tales of their superhuman uncles. It kept the group in high spirits. Wills had even taken up a betting pool as to which set of uncles would actually rescue them. The two oldest boys settled down to entertain the rest.

Emiko was proud of both of them. From the first day, they had formed a great team and had taken charge of the younger boys, soothing them and keeping everyone positive. She was reminded of two other young boys long ago who had formed such a bond and sighed. She knew they were coming; it was just a matter of when. _Hurry my boys. Hurry._

 

*******

 

8 p.m. Malta

Ezra landed and sat in the cockpit for a minute before unfastening his seatbelt and getting ready to deplane. He could see Chuikov waiting for him. His face was impassive as he climbed out of the plane and sauntered toward his enemy.

“Nikolai. Welcome back to Malta. I trust you had an uneventful flight.”

“Stuff your small talk, Vladi.”

“I told you its Viktor now.”

Ezra’s cold smile sent a small shiver down Chuikov’s spine. “Your name makes no matter to me, and soon it will make no matter for you either.”

Chuikov took a step back. He had not expected Standish to go on the offensive, not with the much-loved Emiko’s life on the line. “You can’t kill me, Standish. If I die then so do your chances of finding the delightful Ms. Kurosawa. Surely you won’t sacrifice her life just to get at me.”

Ezra’s eyes grew even harder and colder. “You made a tactical error using Emiko this way, Vladi. As I was flying here tonight, I realized how disappointed she would be if I came for her instead of those children. You see, her way of life was sacrifice, first for me then Grandfather. She was prepared to die by your hand from the day you abducted her and she would view any attempt by me to rescue her as dishonorable.”

Chuikov stared at Ezra wondering when he had lost control of the situation. “But you are a dishonorable man, Standish. You kill people for money – how much more dishonorable can you get?”

“You needn’t remind me of what I do. Besides, I’m not getting any money for killing you, it’s purely for my peace of mind,” Ezra replied, his voice flat as he advanced on Chuikov.

Moving quickly, Chuikov drew two knives. He had no doubts that he was going to die; he just wanted to take his opponent with him if he could. Ezra smiled again as he drew his sai. He crossed the three-pronged weapons, the hollow metallic clank startling Chuikov. Using the small advantage, Ezra swung the left hand sai in an arcing motion and sunk its blades deep into Chuikov’s shoulder. The older man screamed in pain and stabbed with his knife, but Standish’s right sai was still in a defensive position and blocked the stroke easily. Ezra kicked out with his left leg, catching Chuikov full in the chest. Off balance, Chuikov went down, his own weight and gravity pulling the imbedded weapon out of his shoulder as he fell. As soon as he hit the ground, he rolled to the side and got back on his feet. His arm hung uselessly and he cursed the skill of the man before him. He gripped his remaining blade and waited for Standish to come to him; he had one last trick up his sleeve. Ezra smirked at the wounded man and obligingly moved in for another strike. He knew Chuikov was not yet down for the count, but he hadn’t expected Chuikov to throw the knife at him and pull a gun as quickly as he did. Standish managed to duck the knife but felt the burn of the bullet as it tore a deep furrow between his ribs on his right side. He did not stop his advance knowing if he slowed in any way Chuikov would get off a killing shot. Instead, he threw the right hand sai at his opponent and watched it sink through Chuikov’s palm, knocking the gun away and neutralizing any other threat from that appendage. He followed through with another strike from his remaining sai, slamming it down into his enemy’s working shoulder. Chuikov fell to the ground, screaming, as Standish pulled both his weapons from their sheaths of living tissue.

Ezra stared down at the fallen man. “Why have you done this, Vladi? What could have been so important?”

“Ezra Nicholas Pyotrovich Standish, how could you possibly understand? You have always been wealthy, always had everything you ever wanted handed to you. Your grandfather is enamored of Socialism, has raised his children and grandchildren to believe that it is the true way, yet he continues to work and live in the free economy driven Europe. He allowed his daughter to form an attachment to a poor Soviet soldier because he thought that he should actively support the Marxist theory that all men are equal, yet allowed his daughter to have her child out of wedlock so that she might be able to keep the lifestyle she was accustomed to and not be forced to live in some row house in Moscow or Stalingrad. Do you know what that did to your father? Do you know how he felt being forced to the sidelines of your life because of your spoiled mother? Your grandfather is a hypocrite.”

Ezra’s eyes narrowed. “So you took these children and would have killed them because my grandfather unwittingly supported your feelings of inadequacy?”

“As I suspected, you are incapable of understanding. You see, Standish, you have always had power. I had none. When the KGB put me out to pasture, I was lost. I had been in the service of my country in one way or another since I was fifteen years old. I didn’t know what else to do. I began working in an inspection plant and found that there was much more money to be made by looking the other way than by enforcing the rules. Soon enough after that, I began to realize that I could run the operation and I got my first taste of power. I’ve never looked back.”

Ezra nodded solemnly. “Power has a way of corrupting even the best of men. You didn’t have very far to fall, though, did you?”

“Look who talks of corruption,” Chuikov sneered. “You had the best of everything as you grew up and yet look at what you have become. Is your family proud of your accomplishments, Standish? Do they announce how many people you have killed at their society dinners?”

“I don’t place blame on others for what I am. I chose the life I live, as did you.”

“Do you regret your decision, Standish?”

“What I regret is that you attempted to control me by harming those I hold dear. You will pay for that.”

“Will you not reconsider my offer? We could control an empire, you and me. If you want, we could bring in your father, maybe even Vin if he’s interested.”

“One more word and I will cut out your tongue,” Ezra snarled, coldly furious that Vladi would dare mention Vin. He pulled one of his kama from the back of his belt before turning his victim over on his stomach.

Chuikov had no idea what was coming and screamed as he felt the blade sever the hamstring on his left leg. Before his scream had ended, the right leg was hamstrung as well.

Standish wiped the blade and replaced it securely. He stood, surveying his handiwork as he said coldly, “I estimate you have a day or two to consider the error of your ways. Use the time well.”

“You bastard! May you rot in whatever hell you believe in!”

Ezra strode to the car Chuikov had driven, paying no heed to the epithets and curses of the man behind him. His mind was on completing the job ahead.

 

*******

 

8:30 p.m. Malta

The Aero Commander piloted by Vin Tanner landed at the Malta airfield and was not met with any special attention.

JD’s voice rang over the net. “Are these guys stupid? No one is even checking us out.”

“They think I’m Nik,” Vin answered.

Chris’s crisp voice came over the net. “Buck, you and Nathan go for the children while Josiah and I keep our friends occupied over here. Vin...”

“I stay in the plane.”

Chris chuckled. “Yes, but if we need some help, shoot somebody will you?”

More chuckles sounded, including Vin’s. “True. He didn’t say I couldn’t kill hostiles from the plane, did he?”

“JD, just like Vin, if we need additional back-up, grab a gun and shoot from the plane. Everyone clear?”

Five ‘clears’ were called in and Chris continued. “Just remember, aim to kill because while these may not be the brightest guys around they will have no problem filling you with lead.”

Nathan started at that. Yes, he was on a covert mission, but he was also a doctor. He had sworn an oath to save lives not take them. He began to wonder if he really belonged on this team. Before now it had just been a niggling thought in the back of his mind. Now it was right in his face and he couldn’t get away from it. He glanced at his teammates to see how they were dealing with the situation. Chris and Buck were in the back, grease paint on their face and hair. They looked calm and completely in control, but then they were trained for this kind of stuff. JD was concentrating on his various monitors. He had them set up for video and audio feed through the helmets so he could keep track of everyone. He, too, seemed in his element. Josiah had applied his grease paint and was checking his weapon with an easy familiarity. Nathan knew without a doubt that Vin was also ready. He took several deep breaths to calm his racing heart and mind. He checked his weapon and then his watch. It was 8:35.

It seemed like hours but was actually only a minute before he heard “ _Go! Go! Go!_ ” in his ear. He pushed himself out the door after Buck and the two of them moved through the night toward the smaller of the two buildings at the airfield. Everyone had agreed that it was the most likely place to hold the captives, as the much larger hangar would afford too much chance for mischief. Nathan heard the first bullets behind him and his already racing heart kicked up another notch. He followed Buck, knowing that Wilmington knew what to do in situations like this. They were on hands-free signal, which meant that anything anyone said would be picked up by the sensitive radio in the plane. Nathan was fairly sure that he was whispering the same thought that kept going through his mind, and that meant that his teammates were getting an almost constant stream of ‘Shit!’ on their earpieces. He would have laughed at himself if he weren’t so scared. He wondered if any of the other men were scared at all.

It seemed to take forever, but they finally reached the building. Nathan watched as Buck silenced the guard in the front by stabbing him full in the throat, paralyzing his larynx. Wilmington’s silenced Glock dispatched two other men before Buck headed around the back of the building. Wilmington hit all four men smoking there before he turned around and pointed back the way they’d came; it was time to get those kids. Nathan was still somewhat in awe of what Buck had done to the seven men outside. He was glad that he had not had to take part. He was hopeful that none of his expertise would be needed, let alone skills he was just beginning to learn.

Wilmington tested the door and found it unlocked. He signaled Nathan to follow him and slammed open the door before ducking inside the room.

 

*******

Emiko had watched Billy and Wills work their magic on the others for the past couple of hours. Currently, the two older boys had the younger boys playing quietly in the back. Emiko’s trained hearing caught the distinctive cough that only came from a silenced weapon. She listened, counting six hits. Whoever was out there was good but it wasn’t Vin or Ezra. They would never have used guns, even with silencers. She hoped whoever was outside was here to get the children home and not from some splinter group off Kostin’s looking for a higher paycheck on this job but she would be prepared either way. She caught Billy’s eye and he came to her.

“Billy, get the children as far in the back as you can. Go now.”

Billy’s father had been a Navy SEAL and he recognized field authority when he heard it. He went quickly back to Wills and explained. They herded the others into the furthest corner before returning to the front to watch the action.

Emiko moved to the corner and tensed as the doorknob was turned. The door swung open hard enough to temporarily disable anyone who might have been hiding behind it and two big men in black jumpsuits and grease paint entered quickly. The one on point was, or had been, a soldier. It was obvious that he was a professional. The second was just as obviously not trained. It was easy to tell because he didn’t turn to cover their backs at the door, just crouched behind his partner looking uneasy.

Emiko stole silently behind the second man and quickly had him face-first on the ground, his weapon now trained on his partner. “Drop your gun,” she commanded.

 

*******

Buck Wilmington’s eyes closed at the sound of the unknown voice. He and Chris had known Nathan would be a liability in the field until they had gotten him some formal training, but there had been no hope for it before this trip. They had gambled that by sending Jackson with Buck to get the children, they could keep his inexperience balanced with Wilmington’s covert expertise. _Nothing for it now. Just gotta get us out of this alive_. He tossed his weapon and let it clatter across the floor.

“I’m gonna turn real slow now, lady, so don’t shoot me,” Buck said calmly. He kept his hands away from his sides and turned very slowly so he could get a look at the situation. He saw Nathan, facedown on the floor, with an older Japanese woman standing over him. _First thing I’m gonna teach that boy is to get his own back in a situation like this_.

“Nathan, stay right there on the floor. Do _not_ move, you got me?” he instructed.

“Like I needed you to tell me that, Buck,” Nathan replied, frustration evident in his voice.

“Uncle Buck?” Came an uncertain voice.

“Billy?” Buck whirled around just in time to catch the blond child as he threw himself into Buck’s arms. “Oh God, Billy! Are you okay, kiddo?” Buck’s voice cracked with emotion as he hugged the son of one of his two best friends tighter.

“I knew you’d come for us! Where’s Uncle Chris?”

“He’s outside, kiddo, keeping the baddies at bay until we can get you out of here,” Buck replied, getting himself under control.

Buck felt the boy turn in his arms and looked over his shoulder to see the woman helping Nathan to his feet. “She with you, Billy?”

Billy nodded. “That’s Miz Emiko. She got kidnapped at the same time as us.”

Buck looked at the woman. He couldn’t guess her actual age, she could be anywhere from thirty-five to sixty. She wasn’t all that tall, but she obviously had training. He was impressed.

A scuffling of feet had Buck facing front again to see the procession of nineteen children come to a halt in front of him, led by an older, dark-haired boy. “We’re all present and accounted for, sir.”

“Wills, this is my Uncle Buck!”

“Wills? As in Smythe-Hampton?” Buck asked, looking back at Nathan who came to stand next to him.

“Yes, sir,” Wills answered.

“You might be interested to know that our pilot is a man by the name of Vin Tanner,” Buck said with a hint of a smile.

“Uncle Vin!” Wills cried, looking at Billy.

“Looks like you both win the bet,” Emiko said, smiling.

“Bet?” Nathan asked.

“Later,” Emiko replied. “How far to the plane and how many people do you have out there?”

“Plane’s about two hundred yards from here,” Buck answered. “We’ve got two on the tarmac distracting attention from here and two on board the plane who can help if necessary.”

“Is Uncle Ezra here too?” Wills asked.

“Don’t know any Ezra, Wills,” Nathan said quietly.

Buck watched the boy’s face fall. Then he heard Billy’s voice comforting his friend saying, ‘At least your Uncle Vin is here.’

Buck reported in. “Confirm twenty-one guests for our flight this evening. We will be on our way in five, repeat five, minutes.”

Nathan did a quick once-over of everyone before they got ready to leave the building. Buck and Emiko decided the best way to get the children to the plane was to have them in four lines of five surrounded as best as possible by the three adults.

“Okay, children, we’re going home,” Emiko called softly.

 

*******

Ezra leaned against the side of the building, his eyes closed in an almost painful rush of relief. _Emiko_. He opened his eyes and stepped through the door. “Can anyone join this party?”

Buck and Nathan whirled to see Nik standing in the door. They barely had time to assimilate the information before Wills was running headlong for the man.

“Uncle Ezra!”

Ezra sank to one knee and opened his arms to his godson. “Wills, my boy, are you alright?”

Buck and Nathan just stared. The man they knew as Nikolai was full of surprises. They had only met him once and he had been nothing but politely condescending. They were now seeing a completely different side as he was obviously affected by the reunion.

After hugging the boy, Ezra saw bruising on his godson’s face and arms. His eyes narrowed dangerously. “Who marked you?”

“I don’t know Uncle Ezra. Miss Emiko, do you?” Wills answered, turning to find Emiko right behind him.

Ezra looked up, his bright green eyes meeting her black, both speaking volumes without saying a word. Standish’s eyes closed briefly as Emiko reached over and gently cupped his cheek. “Who did this?” he asked her, his voice soft but far from tender.

“Makarov,” she replied evenly, knowing Makarov was a dead man; it was only a matter of time before the man at her feet made him pay for every bruise on the boy. She hadn’t even made mention of the marks the lackey had left on her.

Ezra fought to keep his composure. _I’ll deal with him later. Right now, the children come first_. “I’m just going to march the children out and put them on the plane. Buck, Nathan, Emiko, follow as closely as you can in the shadows. I’ll see you to the plane and then tie up any loose ends here.”

“You’re not coming with us, Uncle Ezra?” Wills asked plaintively.

“Not this time, Wills. I will see you later.”

“Do you promise?”

“I have never promised before and I will not start now, Wills. If I am able, I will see you.” Ezra softened his words with a shoulder squeeze. A small frown appeared on Wills’ face as Ezra walked to the door, but he went to the back of the line with Billy and Emiko.

At the door, Ezra turned to Buck. “Notify your team of the change in plans. I don’t want to get hit by friendly fire.”

Buck quickly spoke to JD and signaled Ezra that all was set to proceed.

“Alright you lot, let’s get to that plane.”

As soon as he was out the door, Standish yelled in Russian, “Stop firing, you idiots! Do you want to kill one of these children and fuck the whole job up because you were jumping at shadows? Stop endangering this payload immediately!”

The few men left alive were shocked into inactivity and turned to the authoritative voice.

“But...but, sir,” one of the men stuttered.

The confused men were easily surrounded and disarmed by Chris, Josiah and Buck and disarmed. Nathan quickly helped to tie them up and lock them inside the building they had just vacated while Emiko and Ezra took the children up to the plane.

Ezra helped Emiko up into the plane and then handed the children up one at a time to her and JD until they were all safe on the plane. He moved back toward the rest of the returning team, intent on getting them out of the area. Makarov was unaccounted for, so the threat was still present. His trained eye picked out movement in the shadows.

“Get down!” he called to the others as shots rang out.

Ezra tracked the muzzle flash as he reached for his kama. He threw one of the hooked blades and heard the cry of pain and the clattering of the gun against the tarmac. “There’s more where that came from, Makarov,” he called out in Russian. Makarov moved into the light, his left hand severed through the palm and bleeding heavily.

Jackson was on his feet immediately, his instincts pushing him to try to help the badly wounded man. He was steps away from Makarov when Ezra’s cold voice rang out. “Leave him.”

Nathan stopped and turned to Standish. “He’s hurt!”

“I told you not to get between me and these men.”

“But...”

“Continue toward him and die or get on the plane with your team.”

“Jesus, Nathan, he’s gonna bleed out before you could get him the kind of help he needs. Is he worth your life?” Buck asked, grabbing Nathan’s arm. “Let’s go.”

“The choice is yours, Dr. Jackson,” Ezra said, clicking the safety off the Luger he’d drawn.

Nathan hung his head for a moment and then followed Buck’s lead. Chris and Josiah breathed twin sighs of relief as they followed. Ezra tracked them to the plane before he turned to fully face Makarov.

“What do you want?” Makarov cried holding up his injured limb, “You’ve already killed me, Pyotrovich.”

Ezra’s smile chilled Vassili Makarov to the bone. “The others had no marks. You hurt Wills because of his relationship to me. That is unacceptable.”

Makarov spit. Ezra shoved the man toward the buildings, and as he stumbled forward, Makarov decided to launch an attack. He hit the side of the hangar and waited for Standish to advance before he made his move. He reached down and pulled a knife from a sheath on his belt, slashing at Standish’s abdomen with all of his remaining strength. He was aiming to stab after the slash and, had his adversary not been expecting some kind of move, he would have struck a lethal blow. As it was, his sharp blade tore across Ezra’s body before Standish could knock the knife out Makarov’s grasp.

“You are going to wish you had used your knife on yourself,” Ezra promised, his voice as cold as his smile. Standish pulled two climbing spikes out of one of his flight suit pockets and pounded the spikes through Makarov’s elbow joints, into the sidewall of the building.

“I hope you crash and burn in hell, Nikolai!” Makarov screamed in pain and rage.

Ezra inclined his head at the dying man before walking away to the vehicle he had left to the side of the airfield. He quickly searched the bodies along the airfield, chose one and loaded it into the jeep. _Time to lay Nikolai and Nicholas to rest_. He began the long, bumpy drive back to where he had landed initially.

 

*******

 

Prague 3 a.m. 7 July

Vin had radioed ahead to Prague, letting the authorities know he was carrying in the kidnapped children and that they were all in good health. When he landed, emergency services and the police were waiting to take custody of the children. He shifted in the pilot’s seat, wanting to go and see Wills and Emiko, to assure himself that they were alive and well. He sighed knowing he had a few more minutes before he could get to them. He went through the required post check of the plane before unfastening his belt and deplaning. As he climbed down the stairs, he looked through the tangle of people around the area, searching for his loved ones.

“Uncle Vin!” was all the warning Tanner received before he had an armful of hurtling child. His arms closed tightly around his precious burden, holding the young boy close for several long moments. Ordinarily Wills would have pulled back after a brief contact; his reluctance to end the physical contact told Vin more than the boy would ever have done with words. Vin put just enough distance between them to look Wills over and his breath caught when he saw the bruises on the child’s face and arms.

“Are you alright, Wills?” he asked in an even tone, not wanting to upset the boy although he was angry with the lingering reminders of what Wills had gone through.

“I’m fine now, Uncle Vin,” Wills assured the man.

Vin sighed and held the boy close again for another moment. He might have held on even longer if he hadn’t felt the hand softly caressing his head. At the gentle touch, Vin looked up into Emiko Kurosawa’s face. “Emiko,” he whispered, his eyes closing with the force of the pent-up emotions running through him. Wills heard the whisper and pulled back. Vin immediately let him go, stood up, and was embraced by Emiko in one smooth motion.

 

*******

Wills had never met Miss Emiko before this incident, although he had heard about her from both his mother and father. His uncles had never spoken of her unless prompted and even then had answered with only the smallest of detail. Now he knew they had been protecting Emiko by not speaking of her. He had overheard many conversations between his parents about the dangerous work his uncles did and now that he had seen them in action, he could understand the need for such drastic measures.

Wills looked around for Billy and saw his friend across the runway with his uncles, a blonde woman and an older man. Wills caught his friend’s eye and motioned him over.

 

*******

Vin felt the burn of tears behind his eyelids as he wrapped himself around Emiko. _Safe. She’s safe_. He felt her gently rubbing circles over his back as she used to do when he was upset or frightened as a child. He let her soothe him. He felt his calm return yet did not relinquish his tight hold on her. This job had been hell on him personally. Not since his mother had died and he had waited for his father to decide what to do with him had he felt so out of control of his life. He felt a tug on his flight jacket. He released Emiko and turned to focus on Wills. “All right, Wills?”

Wills grinned up at him. “I want you to meet my friend.”

Vin looked over to the side and saw the rest of the team, Orrin, and an unidentified blonde woman. He walked over to the group, shaking hands with the men.

“Excellent work, Tanner,” Travis said quietly. He gestured to the woman. “This is my daughter-in-law, Mary. She’s Billy’s mother.”

Mary hugged him tightly whispering her thanks in his ear. Vin smiled at her. “Just glad to have been able to help on this one,” he replied.

“Uncle Vin,” Wills called, pulling the adults attention back to the important matter, “I want you to meet my friend, Billy Travis.”

Vin knelt down so as to be on Billy’s level as he shook the boy’s hand. “Billy, it is an honor to meet you.”

Billy’s blue eyes widened. “Thanks, Mr. Tanner,” he replied, not exactly comfortable with the proceedings.

“Call me Vin. Anyone who can keep this uncouth brat out of trouble is a friend of mine,” Vin smiled as he reached out and ruffled Wills’ hair.

 

Chuckles rang out from the small group.

Vin stood up and moved closer to Wills, putting an arm around the boy’s shoulder. Wills smiled and leaned into the loose embrace.

“Wills, are you hurt?” Buck asked, concerned.

“No, Buck, not at all,” the boy answered, confused.

“What’s that then?” Buck asked, gesturing to the large patch of red that hadn’t been visible until Wills had twisted a bit to get closer to Vin.

Instantly, the men sprang into action, surrounding the boy in a circle. Vin lifted Wills’s shirt and saw no mark. The stain was definitely blood, but it wasn’t from Wills. He looked into the boy’s dark eyes and then up at Buck. “Get Emiko.”

Wilmington nodded and went to get the woman. When they came back, Emiko was checked just as thoroughly, but no injury that would have caused that much blood was found. Her mouth tightened as she met Vin’s gaze. “Ezra.”

Wills took a shaky breath. “No,” he whispered.

“What?” demanded Orrin. He had no idea who this woman was nor how she had been involved and he didn’t like being out of the loop.

Emiko didn’t look at Travis; her pained gaze was only for Vin. Tanner’s eyes widened as he took in the reactions of Wills and Emiko. Everyone else just watched the scene play out, hoping for more information. Wills enlightened them.

“Uncle Ezra said he couldn’t come with us, that he would see me later. I asked him to promise and he said no, that he would try his best to see me and that was all he could give me. Then he went out the door and saved everyone,” the upset child said in a rush. “He was hurt! He was hurt and I didn’t...”

“Stop it, Wills,” Vin commanded gently. “There was no way for you to have known he was injured. Besides, do you really think he would’ve stopped?”

“No,” the boy answered sadly, “but he might’ve given me the chance to tell him I loved him once more...” Wills’s voice trailed off on a hitching sob.

Both Vin and Emiko’s eyes closed in pain at the boy’s words. They didn’t believe Ezra was dead, they were sure they would feel it if he was, but there was no way to tell the extent of his injury and given the size of the bloodstain, it was substantial.

“Who is this Ezra?” Orrin demanded.

“Ezra is Nikolai,” Buck answered. “Couldn’t believe it when he showed up at the airfield and Wills, here, ran right up to him calling him Uncle Ezra.”

“So the Russian isn’t really a Russian?” Travis wanted clarification. Chris made a “later” gesture. They didn’t need to be talking about this in front of civilians.

Wills looked at Vin. “Do you think Uncle Ezra will be okay?”

A sad smile crossed Vin’s face. “He’s been taking care of himself for a long time now.”

“You always say he’s like a cat,” the boy pointed out, wanting more reassurance.

“Yes, but how many lives does he have left?” Emiko wondered aloud, keeping her voice quiet enough that Wills wouldn’t hear.

 

*******

 

Rome 2 p.m. 7 July

Ezra Standish hated life at the moment. He had ditched the plane he’d flown into the Mediterranean Sea and parachuted to safety. He’d gotten into a hospital and stolen the supplies necessary to temporarily repair the damage from Chuikov’s gun and Makarov’s knife. He was in pain but painkillers were not an option. He still had a long way to go before he could get to a safe house where he could actually suture himself up with the supplies instead of just applying pressure bandages to try to staunch the flow of blood. He wasn’t in imminent danger of bleeding out, but with the distance he still had to travel it was better to be safe than sorry. He had to make sure he arrived in one piece - he had a new life to start.

 

*******

 

Prague 2 p.m. 7 July

...plane apparently crashed into the Mediterranean late last night or in the early morning hours today. The pilot, Nicholas Peterson according to the identification recovered from the wreckage, had been shot multiple times. It is believed that he was involved in the recent international kidnappings. We will update you as...

Vin turned off the television mid-sentence, shaking his head over the developments revealed by the news flash. _Ezra, you git...what do you have up your sleeve this time?_

“Nik is dead?” JD’s surprised voice rang out in the silent room as he turned to Vin.

“Shame, that,” Josiah replied. “I was looking forward to—”

“He’s not dead,” Vin interjected firmly.

“Vin...” Chris began.

Vin smiled, surprising everyone in the room. They’d all assumed he was upset. “Look, the Nicholas Peterson they pulled out of that wreckage had blond hair. The slippery son of a bitch obviously took one of the bodies from the airfield with him. He must have planned on ditching that plane.”

“So what’s he going to do now?” Nathan inquired. “I mean, he’s killed himself off, so...”

Vin shrugged. “I haven’t any idea. He never said anything about making Nicholas Peterson disappear. Who knows why he does anything, though.”

Nathan knew he would never forget the click of Nik’s weapon or the tone of his voice as he had ordered Jackson to get on the plane or die. Jackson didn’t think revenge was worth losing your humanity, and he wondered if he would ever have the chance, or the courage, to ask the man himself.

“Think he’ll be looking for a gig?” Buck asked, grinning.

Vin chuckled. “You could do a hell of a lot worse.”

“Speaking of gigs, Vin, what are your plans for the future?” Chris asked seriously.

“Rest.”

A smile tugged at Chris’s mouth. “I’m thinking slightly longer term than that.”

Vin’s brow arched. “Are you offering me a job, Larabee?”

“If you’d consider working with us on a permanent basis, we’d love to have you.”

“How’s the pay?”

Chuckles rang out across the room.

“Travis will make it more than worth your while, Tanner,” Chris replied, grinning.

Vin cocked his head, considering. It wouldn’t be easy; he would have to learn to trust these men to watch his back and trust was not something he offered lightly. Vin looked around the room, meeting each man’s eyes. He had worked by himself except for the occasional job with Ezra, but there was something in these men, something that called to him to accept the offer. It didn’t hurt that the Charon Group offered him the opportunity to use his specialized skills in a more positive manner. “I hear Edgar Martinez decided to stay in Seattle.”

“Best DH ever,” JD answered with complete bias.

“You a baseball fan, Tanner?” Buck asked.

“Go Yankees.”

“Booooo!” Nathan cried.

Josiah walked to Vin and draped his arm over Tanner’s shoulder. “That’s all right, boys, we’ll just have to show him the error of his ways.”

Vin snorted as he dislodged Sanchez’s arm. “Whatever.”

Chris smiled as he watched the group by-play, knowing that, if nothing else, this team was certainly going to be interesting.


End file.
